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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23962567">The Kitchen Musician</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Learning to Cope [21]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Non-Sexual Age Play, Some Plot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:07:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,252</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23962567</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryan looks at Fiona from where he's sitting on the floor, surrounded by pots and pans. He's got a metal spoon in one hand, tongs in the other, and looks incredibly proud of himself as he flashes her a cheeky grin and smacks the bottom of a soup pot.</p>
<p>"Drums!"</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Learning to Cope [21]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1141466</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>74</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Kitchen Musician</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>thank you to my boi puddingshirt for helping me actually finish this nonsense.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Fiona Nova is a god damn superhero.</p>
<p>Designing amazing cosplay? Easy. Ignoring asshole comments? No problem. Keeping a group of rowdy idiots in check? Piece of cake.</p>
<p>So why the hell can't she make this happen?</p>
<p>"He's a good kid." Geoff had said. "Quiet. A bit sensitive but he doesn't like to cause trouble. It'll be easy." He assured her, all the while running skilled fingers through Ryan's messy hair. And she had assured him in return. "One of my girlfriends regressed as a coping mechanism sometimes. I've got this, don't worry."</p>
<p>And all had seemed fine. The rest of the guys went into work while she was left with a very small Ryan in the middle of a mood drop because of a med switch. No problem. He was still sleepy and pyjama-clad when the others walked out the door, looking ready to fall right back into bed for a few more hours. She felt much the same way. Maybe some cereal and lazy couch time would suit them just fine.</p>
<p>This dream of an easy babysitting day goes out the second story window and into a dumpster fire as soon as they're alone.</p>
<p>It starts slow. Geoff kisses Ryan's cheek, ruffles her hair, and heads out the door as quickly as he can. Ryan doesn't particularly react other than looking ten percent confused and ninety percent tired. This changes when the sound of the car starting reaches them. He tenses up. Fiona scratches his scalp the way she's seen the others do to calm him down in the past, but his entire focus is now on the leaving vehicle. As soon as they can hear the sound of tires rolling out of the driveway, he begins to crumble, tears welling up quickly in his eyes. The car ambling away down the street cues a complete falling apart of the man.</p>
<p>"No- hey, Rye, hey, look at me." She tries, giving Ryan's shoulders a squeeze as his breathless crying devolves into choked sobs. He ignores the request, reaching for the door knob instead. Fiona quickly captures his searching hand in one of her own.</p>
<p>"Ryan, buddy, it's okay. They're going to work. Super boring! You and I get to stay here with all the toys, and we can watch whatever we want!"</p>
<p>"Geoff."</p>
<p>She sighs. "I know, buddy. But he's gonna come back. They all are."</p>
<p>"Geoff." He insists, voice wobbling with tears and followed by a hiccup. She can feel his shaking at every point of contact. If she wants to avoid a complete meltdown, she's gonna need to work fast. Having been made aware of how incredibly tactile the boy can be, Fiona makes a judgement call and wraps him up in a tight hug. It's the best she can do.</p>
<p>Thankfully, it works.</p>
<p>The shaking stops. He practically melts into the contact, in fact. She considers this all a major win and awkwardly shuffles them in the direction of the couch. It's a whole other task to get him settled on the couch and wrapped around a pillow instead of her, but she makes it happen. She asks him if he'd like a snack, and when he answers with Lucky Charms, she doesn't even care about the sugar. She's too busy congratulating herself for getting coherent words out of him. As he settles in and eats his snack, she relaxes. She's got this. But also-</p>
<p>"Why don't you eat the marshmallows?"</p>
<p>"Save 'em for Fredo. His favorite."</p>
<p>Yeah. She's got this.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>
  <i>BANG.</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>CLASH. </i>
</p>
<p>And a resounding clatter. This is the commotion that has Fiona legging it to the kitchen and regretting leaving Ryan alone while she went upstairs to steal one of Gavin's hoodies. The clanging continues as she rounds the corner, slides into the room, and whips her head around, searching for the source. She can hear muffled laughter among the metallic banging and narrows her eyes when she spots a sneaker clad foot sticking out from behind the kitchen island. Already the shrill noise is making her ears ring, but she perseveres, peeking around the island to find the source of the raucous.</p>
<p>Ryan looks at her from where he's sitting on the floor, surrounded by pots and pans. He's got a metal spoon in one hand, tongs in the other, and looks incredibly proud of himself as he flashes her a cheeky grin and smacks the bottom of a soup pot.</p>
<p>"Drums!"</p>
<p>It takes the full might of her self control to not just walk away. Giving up is a very tempting idea. Instead, Fiona makes a suggestion.</p>
<p>"Y'know there's a perfectly good Rock Band set--"</p>
<p>She's interrupted by a tone deaf drum solo, mostly featuring the beautifully shrill sounds of a colander. Who even needs ASMR?</p>
<p>"Drums." Ryan insists. She sighs. Time for a different approach.</p>
<p>"Hey, Rye, Jack told me you really love Voltron."</p>
<p>His eyes widen. Hook, line, sinker. She continues, making sure he realizes she's genuinely interested. She is! It just also happens to be a convenient way to save her eardrums.</p>
<p>"Now, I don't really know anything about Voltron, but I figure if you like it it has to be pretty cool. Jack even said you <i>have</i> Voltron."</p>
<p>".... I do." His voice is quiet. It usually is, but now he's clearly just in wonder that someone is interested in one of his nerdy passions. It's painfully endearing.</p>
<p>"Man, that sounds so cool. I've never even seen Voltron before, and you can play with it whenever you want." She sighs, as though this is a particularly upsetting bit of knowledge.</p>
<p>The kitchen musician is suddenly hopping to his feet, which sends kitchenware falling and flying all over the place with multiple loud clangs against the tile floor. He pays no mind as he quickly steps out of the metal mess and side steps around her, heading for the stairs with a single-minded determination about him.</p>
<p>"I'm getting Voltron." He mumbles as he passes her, not waiting for a response. She covers her own smile with her hand until he's gone up the stairs. As soon as the coast is clear, she grins openly. Look at them go. Diffusing situations, getting along, kid watchin' like a pro. She snatches the previously acquired hoodie off the couch and slips it on while she waits for Ryan to come back down with his prized possession. It's still saturated in Gavin's cologne, which is thankfully a mild scent. The comforting aroma has her relaxing all over. She's a god damn super hero.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Voltron is very important. That's why the meticulously assembled Lego creation sits safely on a shelf in Ryan's room, where Michael and Gavin (mostly Gavin and his desire for weird hybrid creatures) can't get to it. After all, it's the defender of the universe. That's important business!</p>
<p>Ryan keeps that in mind as he reaches for the toy, which is why he pauses before his loose grip tightens around a lion-based leg. Should he be risking his favorite toy? Voltron usually never leaves this room. What if he drops it on the stairs? It took him and Jack a very long time to build the robot together, and Ryan regards that time as having been very special to him. Would Jack be upset if Voltron broke? </p>
<p>Anxiety ridden, he backs away from the shelf, leaving the figure in its designated spot. Well, he can't go down empty handed and look dumb in front of Fiona. He starts searching his room, which is filled with various odd things either sent by fans or acquired via his own desires. Potato clock? No. Too lame. One of his many Mad King crowns? No, too work-related. A plush snake? ….. He sets that aside for himself. It's a very soft snake. He's just about to give up when he spots one of the coolest things in his room. Grinning, Ryan grabs it off his desk and shoves it in his pocket before hurrying out of the room and back downstairs. Fiona's gonna think he's so cool.</p>
<p>"Hey, Ryan." She greets him in her nice, welcoming voice. He likes her voice. It sounds like grass feels on his skin. Not the dead brown stuff here-- the nice plush green stuff back home. "Where's Voltron?</p>
<p>"Somethin' cooler." He mumbles, fidgeting the closer he gets to her. He can barely hold still by the time he's next to her on the couch and sliding a six or so inch wooden object out of his pocket.</p>
<p>"Oh?"</p>
<p>It's pretty simple on the outside; black stained wood, relatively rectangular, but with rounded ends. "Vagabond" is emblazoned along the length of it in fancy gold script. He holds it up and pushes a near invisible button on one side, which causes a shiny steel comb to flip out and makes him smile in turn. Hella cool.</p>
<p>"Oh, shit. You're like a greaser, Rye. Super cool." She praises the switch comb, and Ryan's stomach twists up into nervously happy knots at the attention.</p>
<p>"Look."</p>
<p>He presses another nearly imperceptible button and, from the other end, a sharp blade the same length as the comb flips out. The soft light of the room glints across the flat of the blade. He hears a sharp, startled sound and glances up to see Fiona's very startled expression. Her sudden fear sinks into him. What did he do? People think knives are cool, right? His brain wanders off down a very confused path and settles solidly into scared and small. The hand holding the switchblade comb shakes.</p>
<p>"Ryan, I'm gonna take this away, okay? I know you just wanted to show me something you like. You're not in trouble, I'm just taking it." She calmly explains her actions as she easily takes it from his loose grip, flicks the blade back in and sets it in the table. The second the tool is out of her grip, he rockets into her arms, clinging to her. He's shaking all over, which is an unfortunately common state for him. Her arms quickly wrap around him. That helps. A lot. He's still pretty certain she's gonna be pissed at him, but the hug is nice at least. </p>
<p>He allows himself to melt into the reassuring affection, aware she's talking to him but not really parsing the words. Some part of him is pretty sure his world is a lot slower than hers is right now. And that's fine. He can do slow. It means he doesn't have to worry so much, which is a nice change for someone who worries as much as he does, and it settles him. His breathing was starting to quicken but it evens out at Fiona's steady presence.</p>
<p>Time passes, but he doesn't really know how much, doesn't really care even. The sound of the door opening some time later is what speeds things back up to normal, and he's surprised to find when he opens his eyes-- when did he close them?-- that the sun is setting. The purple sky coming in through the window catches his attention first, shortly followed by the gentle hand that's been playing with his hair for what he's sure has been hours. Last to catch his mind, but most importantly--</p>
<p>"Daddy!"</p>
<p>The word catches him off guard. Even more so when he realizes he's the one who said it, and he's the one suddenly sitting completely upright and reaching out for Geoff, who is now frozen in the door frame. The room is quiet. They stare at one another for a few moments before the older man regroups, grins, and crosses the room to where Ryan is sitting. Geoff joins him on the couch and pulls him into his lap.</p>
<p>"Hey, buddy. How was your day?"</p>
<p>Fiona answers for him. God bless her.</p>
<p>"He just woke up from a nap. Well, <i>we</i> just woke up from a nap. He was great, by the way. Ten outta ten baby." She stands as she speaks, exiting the room before Geoff can do more than thank her. Ryan is a bit startled when Jack joins them on the couch, but he wastes no time in reaching out to wind a hand into the other man's shirt so he can be grounded by both of them.</p>
<p>"We don't need to talk about it." Geoff says. Ryan huffs, since that's precisely what Geoff's doing. "Not now. But it's okay. Call me whatever you want, Rye. This is about you, not what other people think."</p>
<p>Heavy feeling, that one. Real heavy as the feeling of acceptance seeps into him, reassured where Geoff's hand rubs slow circles into his back and Jack teases the hairs at the nape of his neck. He's still kinda thrown every time these wonderful people-- his people-- just embrace who he is.</p>
<p>A yawn fights its way out of him, having still not properly woken up from the aforementioned power nap. Geoff chuckles.</p>
<p>"Sleepy boy. How about you lay back down and rest up while Jack and I--"</p>
<p>"Papa." He interrupts, his voice barely above a whisper as he edges into this unknown territory with utter fear.</p>
<p>"While papa and I make dinner." Geoff finishes, not missing a beat. He's good like that. Ryan loves him for it. And a thousand other reasons.</p>
<p>"Okay." He agrees, pressing a sleepy kiss to Geoff's cheek. The grin that earns him makes him red all the way up to his ears. He quickly shoves his face into the man's shoulder.</p>
<p>"Love you too, baby boy."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Asshole comments that criticize a completely harmless coping mechanism get deleted.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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